I had heard that the A380 was significantly more quiet than the Boeing 747-400 but Boeing has challenged that in the past. Well I got a chance to do a comparison this week when the A380 made it's first visit to Boston. After comparing for myself (video evidence below) I have to agree with Airbus. I wonder if the Boeing 747-8 will compare more favorably.

Quoting Reggaebird (Thread starter):I had heard that the A380 was significantly more quiet than the Boeing 747-400 but Boeing has challenged that in the past.

I must have missed that...when/where did Boeing claim the A380 was comparable to a 747-400? I don't see why Boeing would make such a claim; with more than 20 years of development difference, even Boeing should expect the A380 to be a lot quieter.

I've flown the A380 4 or 5 times now, and the 747-4 dozens of times. The A380, hands down is quieter from a business class passenger's point of view, or at least this one. Although I do admit I love the a 345 Singapore Airlines flies in all business class configuration between the US and Singapore. It's like semi-private jet service. It's awesome, no kids, no long lines, and only 100 total passengers landing in either direction to clear customs!

Quoting tdscanuck (Reply 2):I must have missed that...when/where did Boeing claim the A380 was comparable to a 747-400?

I believe that in the early days of the A380/747 competition Boeing was minimizing the projected variance in noise footprint. I don't have a source to share with you at the moment but I think that a little Google or Bing research might provide corroborating details.

I believe Boeing at one point said the plane was TOO QUIET ON THE INSIDE and I think it was because of pilots complaining about not being able to sleep while on board and passengers hearing other passengers' conversations very clearly from several rows away.

[Edited 2010-02-11 20:54:40]

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

Previous to the A345 all business class being my absolute favorite and now the A380, the 747-4 was my favorite airframe to fly on. The upstairs on the 747-4 was pretty quiet but not nearly as much as the A380, with usually only a couple dozen seats it was much better than any of the single floor layouts by Airbus, Boeing, or McDonald Douglas.

The old DC-10s NWA flew from LAX to MSP and DTW a few years ago was really quite nice up front. I miss widebodies on US domestic runs.

Quoting 0NEWAIR0 (Reply 5):I believe Boeing at one point said the plane was TOO QUIET ON THE INSIDE and I think it was because of pilots complaining about not being able to sleep while on board and passengers hearing other passengers' conversations very clearly from several rows away.

If there's a screaming baby or two their bloodcurdling cries and tantrums carry throughout the cabin like fingernails on a chalkboard.

So yes the plane is quiet, VERY quiet. If you fly coach the seats in the back are very wide to boot. Add to the quietness, additional comfort, you can add the better pressurization system and newer technology and most passengers arrive more rested and less jet lagged than on the old technology planes like the 747-4.

I'm very qualified to comment on that - I have multiple A380s and B747-400 aircraft going over my house each day on departure at approx. 2000ft or higher. The A380 is much quieter than the B747. The B747-400 aircraft really make a thunderous roar.

The A380 is very quiet because it uses a very large-diameter front fan for the engines that turn quite a bit slower than the front fans on a 747-400 engine. As such, that means much lower noise levels from the engine itself.

For the 747-8 to achieve this level of quietness, the GENx engine uses a larger diameter front fan combined with an engine nacelle that does a better job of lowering engine noise than the nacelles used on 747-400 engines.

I've heard that jet engines get louder over time. Since the 744 is an older airframe, how much louder do you think the A380 will be when it gets to be 15 or 20 years old? I assume it will still be quieter, but will it be a noticeable difference to how quiet it is now?

Quoting Acey559 (Reply 10):I've heard that jet engines get louder over time. Since the 744 is an older airframe, how much louder do you think the A380 will be when it gets to be 15 or 20 years old? I assume it will still be quieter, but will it be a noticeable difference to how quiet it is now?

Huh? That's the oddest thing I've heard in awhile. Are you sure that they didn't mean a generic 20 year old jet (pick any) is going to be louder than a newly introduced redesigned model?

Besides do they even leave the original jet engines on the airframe anyway? Don't they replace the engines after every few years?

Quoting Acey559 (Reply 10):I've heard that jet engines get louder over time. Since the 744 is an older airframe, how much louder do you think the A380 will be when it gets to be 15 or 20 years old?

I don't think this has to do with the age of the aircraft, but rather with the wear and tear the engine has gone through over the years. Besides, it's very likely that, even in the event that the engine is not damaged, aircraft engines are changed every now and then.

Even quietness and efficiency is a trade off. Some one who knows told me a key requirement of the A380 was that it would be allowed to land at LHR during the silent hours. A few percent of efficiency was sacrefied to lower the noise levels. The air inlets are very advanced patented technology.

Quoting MoltenRock (Reply 3):Although I do admit I love the a 345 Singapore Airlines flies in all business class configuration between the US and Singapore. It's like semi-private jet service. It's awesome, no kids, no long lines, and only 100 total passengers landing in either direction to clear customs!

Care to share this fantastic plane and config in a trip report sometime? I keep looking for a SQ A345 report, nothing in the all biz config. Go on, make my day

I think 747-8 should be significantly quieter with the GenX engines and ditto for 787. I really doubt the 747-400 is close to the A380 in terms of sound. It's probably the loudest of the existing wide bodies (A340, 77W, MD-11 etc.)

Quoting RayChuang (Reply 9):The A380 is very quiet because it uses a very large-diameter front fan for the engines that turn quite a bit slower than the front fans on a 747-400 engine. As such, that means much lower noise levels from the engine itself

Not only because large diameter front fan, Airbus developed the Zero-Splice engine nacelle liner for the Trent 900.

Quote:

Following extensive studies carried out by Airbus on how to reduce fan noise, it was found that splices used to join the engine nacelle inlet’s acoustic panels generated forward fan noise – which was counter-efficient to the liner’s acoustic treatment. Airbus therefore developed the Zero-Splice nacelle liner as a single 360 deg. piece of composite, which is comparable in size to the diameter of an A320 fuselage.

The certified noise reduction achieved by this technology at takeoff is up to 0.4 EPNdB (Effective Perceived Noise Levels), thanks to a reduction of up to seven decibels in fan tone Sound Pressure Level (SPL). This gives the A380 a 10 tonne takeoff weight advantage, which can be used by airline operators to carry more fuel (for increased range) or additional payload (passengers and cargo).

Airbus is further developing the Zero-Splice concept RAMSES (Reduced Acoustic Mode Scattering Engine System) duct concept, for which Airbus also holds the patents. This technology addresses acoustics on the entire engine intake in order to achieve even a greater noise reduction.

The zero splice intake was tested on a Rolls-Royce scale-model fan rig, and the results showed a significant reduction in noise, with a drop of more than 3EPN decibels for forward fan noise.

The Trent XWB will feature Airbus RAMSES technology and with it the A350XWB will be one, if not the quietest airliner in the skies.

From experience, the 380 seems quieter even at the back of the plane, than a 744 is on the upper deck.
After flying Australia-LHR on 330,340,744 and 380 (Still haven't flown 777!!!) I'll always pay the extra to fly 380 now. IMO you really do arrive feeling more refreshed and relaxed than with other types.

Having flown on both the 747-400 and A380-800 recently, I found that the A380 was much quieter.

As my boyfriend would back up, when we were on the QF A380 from LHR-SIN, I was shocked when the flaps began to move into take off slot as I wsa genuinely convinced that the engines hadn't been started yet.

On take off, we were at full thrust, and one could still have a quiet conversation with one's partner even sitting in a window seat.

On the 747 however, it was much noiser;

On the LHR-SIN (388) and BKK-LHR (744) runs, we were behind the wings. On take off in Bangkok, again the engines were at full power and talking was impossible, it was soooo noisy. Even on our BKK-HKT and HKT-BKK 747-400 runs with Thai, we were sat at the nose and that itself was still louder than being sat behind the wing on the A380.

I wouldn't have said that the A380 was too quiet though, I had no trouble falling asleep on the plane, not once, but twice!

JG

First Class passengers are my favourites. They can't get any further forward without an ATPL.

I guess I should have worded my thoughts better. I did mean the engines, not the airplane itself. So rather my question would be, will the new engines of the A380 become more noisy throughout its service life, and if so how noticeable do you think it will be? Does that make more sense?

25 warpspeed
: I recall reading one of the "Randy's" at Boeing make that argument claiming that having the equivalent of white noise was more desirable in such a se

26 JohnKrist
: I think planes are too quiet now, even the Russian freighters are silent. I miss my roaring Mad Dogs, 727's Tu-154's and what not... Big planes should

27 MoltenRock
: Perhaps Harley Davidson should get into the jet building business?

28 slinky09
: Isn't it just. Yet if you read Wandsworth Council's Web site, and their ridiculous campaign against Heathrow expansion, you see comments like "today'

29 glareskin
: I think it is an Airbus usp to have the quiter plane than Boeing. The A300 is quiter than the 767 The A320 is quiter than the 737 The A340 is quiter t

30 frmrCAPCADET
: Not a frequent flier, so I speak from limited experience. The only sounds that really have bothered me are other passengers.

31 AndrewUber
: I've been lucky enough to hear all three (744, 748 and A380) and I would have to say the 747-8 is by far the quietest of the bunch, with the A380 maki

32 Flighty
: I have seen and heard an A380 landing, compared to a 744. The A380 is truly a new generation with almost silent engines. From outside, you almost can'

33 caljn
: One man's meat is another's poison. For those of us who love flying, each of the Boeing planes listed above offers a far more interesting flying expe

34 ETinCaribe
: just from personnal experience, I have flown all Boeing jets from the 720 to the 747 and all Airbus ones as well and I gotta say the A380 is the most